25 February 2013

As Europe Bans Sale of Animal-Tested Cosmetics, Safe, Lush And Humane Society International Call on New Zealand Industry to End Cosmetics Cruelty

As the European Union prepares to ban the sale of newly animal-tested cosmetics on 11 March, Lush Fresh Handmade Cosmetics CEO Mark Constantine and Andrew Rowan PhD., president of Humane Society International, one of the largest animal protection groups in the world, have written an open letter to Cosmetic, Toiletry and Fragrance Association Inc., New Zealand and its counterparts worldwide calling for the cosmetics industry to turn its back on animal testing once and for all.

In New Zealand whilst there is no cosmetics animal testing currently licensed, there is no legal ban preventing animal testing in the future, and products tested on animals overseas are still sold in shops throughout the country.

Both HSI and Lush have campaigned for many years to end cosmetics animal testing. Lush, which has more than 80 shops in over 50 countries, first launched its strictly ‘no animal testing’ policy in 1991, becoming a beacon for ethical, compassionate cosmetics. HSI has led an intense and high-profile campaign to see the EU sales ban enforced and in April last year launched its global Be Cruelty-Free campaign to end cosmetics animal testing worldwide. The New Zealand arm of the campaign is being run in partnership with SAFE, which has campaigned against animal testing for over 80 years and in 2011 launched SAFEShopper, the New Zealand guide to cosmetics not tested on animals.

In a letter to the executive director of the Cosmetic, Toiletry and Fragrance Association Inc., New Zealand, Garth Wyllie, and cosmetics industry trade associations in Australia, India, Brazil, Russia, Korea, Japan, Canada and the United States, Lush and HSI call on animal testing companies across the world to choose the EU sales ban as the moment to go cruelty-free. The letter reads:

“On 11 March, we will witness a truly landmark moment in the history of the beauty industry. The world’s largest cosmetics market, the European Union, which has already banned cruel animal testing of cosmetics within its own boarders, will also close its doors to the sale of cosmetics tested on animals overseas. This sales ban carries with it a clarion call from consumers: cosmetics animal testing is not welcome and it needs to stop. Surely this must signal a turning point for the beauty industry worldwide to finally kick its animal testing habit and commit to going cruelty-free?

Lush, Humane Society International and others have campaigned tirelessly to end cosmetics cruelty. Over the years we have heard every excuse in the book from cosmetics companies clinging on to animal testing, yet one by one those excuses have been exposed to be hollow and self-serving.

Animal toxicity tests represent outdated science; decades-old techniques that cannot reliably assure consumer safety. The future of safety testing lies with modern, human-biology-based methods. So there is no scientific excuse for animal testing. There are also thousands of existing cosmetic ingredients that have long been established as safe for use meaning they don’t require any new testing. Myriad combinations of these allow companies such as Lush to innovate to their heart’s content. So there is no business excuse for animal testing.

And of course animal testing causes unimaginable suffering as rabbits and other animals have chemicals dripped in their eyes or spread on their delicate skin. Swollen eyes, skin rashes and organ damage are the ugly hidden secrets of a beauty industry that has dragged its feet on ending animal testing. So there is no ethical excuse for animal testing.

So as we celebrate the EU going ‘cruelty-free’, we urge all those companies still testing cosmetics on animals in the United States, China, Brazil, India, Canada, South Korea, Russia and beyond: do the decent thing and stop the suffering. Show your global customers that beauty isn’t just skin deep—that it has a heart. You have it within your collective power to stop cosmetics cruelty today. Do it. Enough is enough.”

To mark the historic EU sales ban, sign the Be Cruelty-Free pledge at safeshopper.org.nz and hsi.org/becrueltyfree to help HSI and SAFE end cosmetics animal suffering in New Zealand and worldwide.

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Gordon Campbell: On Failures Of Care For Those With Mental Disabilities

Hard to imagine a more disturbing insight into the treatment of the vulnerable than the Health Ministry report on Te Roopu Taurima o Manukau. The Ministry has found that the country’s only kaupapa Maori intellectual disability residential care provider has been “seriously dysfunctional.”

The ministry says the business has failed to recruit and retain quality staff – and says the kaimahi (caregivers) that have been employed are seriously unsuitable for the job, lacking basic knowledge. But Te Roopu Taurima o Manukau doesn’t get all the blame. The report says there’s a significant gap under disability laws to ensure there’s oversight by qualified clinical professionals. More>>